The Portland daily press., 1887-03-16
A GEORGIA MAIDSTONE.
A Sovereign Remedy for All Snake
Bites.
Scratches by Mad Cats and Dan
gerous incubation.

Special Correspondence Of the Globe-Democrat.
ATLANTA. GA, March 1O.-The recent
death of man in Banks County, who had
been bitten by a mad dog, has revived inter-
est in mad-stones, Of which there are sever
al in various parts Of the State. There Is
one in Fairburn which Is said TO have been
successfully applied TO about 100 persons.
But, by all odds, the most notable stone In
the South Is that owned By Mrs. l.. w. Glib
son, In Columbia County. II derives interest
not alone from the wonderful cures which II
has effected, but from It's antiquity and the
manner in which 1t came into possession Of
the family.
In 1743 a vessel from The East Indies touch
ed the coast of North Carolina, where the
great-grandfather Of Mrs. Gibson's husband
lived at the time. A passenger who was sick
was put off, and Mr.. Gibson took him 10 his
home. where the stranger was welcomed and
nursed back TO health. When about 10 take
his departure he took from his pocket two
stones, one Of which he presented to Mr..
Gibson, telling him that II was Of great age
as he had been assured by the gentleman
from whom he procured 1t In Bombay, that IL
possessed remarkable powers In all cases OF
blOOd-pOisOning, whether 1t resulted from
corrosion OF foreign substances, from the bites
OF animals or insects Of any description, or
from incubation. Even In cases Of small
pox. said the stranger, the stone has been
known TO extract the poison from the system,
leaving the patient thoroughly restored 10
and Ss seas wns yuSs 81 tgE-ysaOaek
In length, three-quarters o. an inch In width
and half an inch thick.
The stranger disappeared, and the stone
was laid by as curiosity TO remind the fam
lily Of its curious guest. No faith was placed
In itS medicinal qualities. Itwas not long
however, before an event happened which
brought the stone into high repute. A mem
per OF MI. GiDson's family was bitten by a
rattlesnake. All known remedies failed. The
patient had passed into paroxysms and All
hope had He'd. IL was then that one OF the
children thought Of the mysterious stone AZ
no harm could be done, 1t was determined 10
use y. AN incsIon was made In the pa
and the stone vas inserted. As the Stone
adhered, a scream Of unutterable anguish es-
capped the lips Of the sufferer, as IL lie Itself
was being drawn out. In less than one min
ute the some had changed its color from dark
gray to fpois0nous-looking green. It was
pulled cut ana soaked In warm water. and
applied again and again, its adhesive power
growing less and less until at last IL refused
to st6 BY this time the patient fell on into
nessot restored health. He lived for thirty
yeas after this event happened. IL was
tho that the stone, which was only kent az
a 81, became an object which money could
ne ra ocsi ai,. from al parts OF the coast there
tmlly subsequently removed 10 Columbia
s0unty, In this State, where for 100 wears
nls stone has been an object OF curiosity 10
physicians iy and people IN general
The receut history o. this remarkable stona
IS quite as strange as that Of its earlier wears
curing the bites ofmad dogs and cats. the
'tings Oh scorpions AMI snakes and the inoc-
ilati0n OF poisonous substances. In 1872
aDe Lockhart, a colped man In Columbia
Ia nil
.tone was applied to the bite. The wonder~
.ul part OF the story Is that the man. who
iad inherited scrofula, was cured OF that dis-
'ase, aud has had sincelno return Of the mai
i.dy. Seven years ago Shack Green, who
lVed nine miles away, was bitten by a rattle
make. When found he was unconseions
ie was put lnto q wagon and driven the
Inc miles TO the home Of Mrs. Gibson. nv
nat time the victims. leg had swollen 10
nree times its usual size AS soon a. the
lone was applied 1t affected the sufferer nrat
sely as IL had its first subject, over cen
ny before. A case which attracted wide
1read attention, however. was that Of Miss
!. lliiams. az Wno 10 Iyed near the plantation Of
en-. Robert Toombs, In Wilkes County. In
81 Miss Williams was inoculated from virus
ltalned from mad cow. When the fact
as discovered 1t sent shock through the
immunity. The lady's friends at onso re-
as entirely successful Ia warding of the an =
'lpated danger. A strange case, h0-1urs -
= that Of the two grandchilf-Deen bitten
cGinry, Of Ne-wood py mad cat The -
q ~ scSssssla ss-s pfed to the two alternately.
> sfSefiildren were taken TO the house by
'ir two uncles who, sixty years before, had
N themselves bitten by mad dogs and
ed their rescue to the same stone.
n fact there Is hardly a community in the
rolinas, Georgia aud Alabama in which
fame OF this renowned stone has not
IN heard of. Frequently the country home
Mrs. Gibson, at Appllng. Is surrounded by
licles bearing the afflicted from distant
nts anxious to be restored to health.